What is in a street name?

Some of Lynchburg's streets were name for homes and farms in the area, others got their names from presidents, and the source of some street names is unknown.

And some streets, obviously, were name for their destinations:  Old Forest Road went from Lynchburg to Forest.

Although Church Street today has no churches, it had plenty when the street was named, including Wesleyan, Centenary and First Methodist.

The sections of todays' Link Road near Boonsboro Road was called Grove Avenue.  Link Road was so named because it connected Boonsboro and Old Forest roads.

Court Street has been the seat of the local courts since the early 1800's.

Boonsboro Road and Hollins Mill Road were once parts of the Lexington Turnpike, which went ot Lexington.  Hollins Mill Road was named for a mill on the road near the dam on Blackwater Creek.

Boonsboro Road led to the village of Boonsboro in Bedford County.  The village may have been named for Daniel Boone.

Grace Street was once known as the Campbell County Courthouse Turnpike,and a portion was known as South Street in the 1870's.

The origin of the name of Grace is unknown.

Federal Street and Federal Hill were probably named for the once powerful Federalist Party.

Memorial Avenue was named for the Confederate dead of the Civil War.  The 42 commemorative trees planted along it honored the dead of World War I.

Fort Avenue takes its name from Fort Early, a Civil War fort named for Gen. Jubal A. Early.

A number of Lynchburg's streets carry the names of counties - Amherst, Dinwiddie, Essex, Campbell, Fauquier, Sussex, Nottoway, Page and Grasyon.

Rivermont Avenue was named for the old Rivermont Land Co., once the larges land surveying firm in Lynchburg.  The same is true of Westover Boulevard, named for the old Westover Land Co., another of the land surveying firms.

The name Rivermont comes from its heights above the river, or "mountain above the river."  Riverside Drive leads from Rivermont Avenue in the general direction of the James River.

The Sandusky neighborhood of Fort Hill was named for an old home, a Federal-style farmhouse build in 1808 for Charles Johnston.

Many of the streets in the inner city are named for presidents: Jefferson, Clay, Madison, Polk, Harrison, Jackson, Monroe, Fillmore, Taylor, Pierce and Buchanan.

Some streets intersecting Fort and Campbell avenues were name for states by the developers.

They included Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Rhode Island, Georgia, Kentucky, Connecticut, Texas, Tennessee, Idaho and Iowa.

Downtown's Ninth Street was once the major north-south street in the business district.  It was once known as Water Street because it lead to the James River.

Commerce Street was once called Lynch Street after John Lynch, the city's founder.

Cabel Street was named for Dr. George Cabell, who once lived at Point of Honor. Cable Street was once the farm road of Judge William Daniel, who gave his name to Daniel's Hill.

Langhorne Road was named ror George W. Langhorne, a large property owner here.

Many of the major roads in the early 1800's were known as "pikes" or "turnpikes," often paved with rough-hewn logs.

The Salem Turnpike led to Salem, and is now knows as Timberlake Road, for Timber Lake, which was developed as a vacation community.

McCausland Street was named for Gen. John McCausland, one of the city's defenderes in the Civil War. Munford and Dearing streets were also named for Confederate generals.

Park Avenue got its name from Miller Park, which it parallels.